Boy Next Door
by Jade Opal
Summary: Ever fell in love with the boy next door, Alex had been asked once. "I have...and I still do to this day," was her answer. RileyOFC. Please Read And Review.
1. Prologue: 5 Years Ago

**DISCLAIMER:** Ok...now to business. God, this took forever to get typed up. I don't own Riley Poole or National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I own ONLY Cassandra Poole and Alexandra Gates. Like countless fanfic authors, I wish I had. So, onward with Boy Next Door.

Nineteen-year-old Riley Poole walks into his Psychoanalysis class one winter afternoon. His messenger bag was full of textbooks, notebooks, and various school supplies. He was dressed as if he was going to work at a stockbroker firm, with the exception of his black Converses high-tops. He looks around the lecture hall and found a seat next to a short brunette boy that was near the middle of the hall. He climbed up a short flight of stairs before getting into the row and scooting down a bit. He cleared his throat to grab the boy's attention.

The boy turned his head to look at Riley. His brown-green stared at Riley's brown eyes behind a pair of classy-type glasses.

"Is this seat taken?" Riley asked the boy, a little scared of the kid's appearance, which were baggy clothes that a skater would wear and a black baseball cap with the New York Yankees logo on the front in white stitching.

"Nope…be my guest," the kid replied back with a genuine tone. "Best seats in the house," he added as Riley nodded his head.

Riley sat down next to the kid and pulled out a notebook, one of his pens, and the textbook for the class out of his messenger bag. He looked to his right at the kid.

"I'm Riley," he said to the kid.

"Alex. Pleasure meeting ya, Riley," Alex replied as the two shook hands.

"Where you from, Alex?"

"I'm from around here. You?"

"Local as well," Riley replied.

"Which part?"

"Suburbs…how about you?"

"About two hours north. I live with my mom. My parents split when I was younger and I stay with her for half a year and then I stay with my pops for the other half."

"Your folks are divorced?"

Alex nodded his head.

"Been that way since I was in 8th grade. Not sure what the reason was for, anyway. Bet it was something that they disagreed with. I can't remember why they divorced."

Riley was about to talk about his folks when the professor arrived and got the class to settle down. Riley just turned his attention to the professor as the professor introduced himself and passed out his syllabus. The professor was in his mid-30's, early 40's with somewhat of an average appearance. After everyone got a copy of the syllabus, the professor began the role-call of the attendance.

"Amelia Bernhardt?" the professor asked.

"Present," Mia Bernhardt said as she raised her hand delicately.

"Peter Bernardo?"

"Here."

"Daniel Cho?"

"Present."

This went on till the professor got to the 'G's.

"Alexandra Gates?"

"Here," Alex said.

This startled Riley a bit as he turned to face Alex. Alex didn't look like a girl…but there was no way that he was one…not with the way he dressed and talked. Alex turned to look at Riley, who was staring at her.

"What?"

"You're-you're a girl?" Riley asked.

"Yeah…I guess you didn't notice the piercings, huh? Most guys don't have three earrings and a cartilage piercing like I do…" Alex replied. "Besides, I figured that I don't tell most guys that I'm a girl till after they noticed my earrings…"

Riley took a glance and noticed a silver hoop on her upper left ear while the lower part had three studs: one green, one blue, and one opal. Riley was about to ask the other side when the professor got to his name.

"Riley Poole?"

"Present," he said to the professor. "You could have told me that your family was the one behind that conspiracy theory on the Founding Fathers…" Riley said to Alex, who was writing something in her notebook.

"Well, I'll tell you two things: one, it's not a conspiracy theory…in fact, it's not a theory at all. Two: trust me; I've actually had to deal with that shit since I was a kid. In fact, I had to endure it while I was in grammar school…so, you can understand my resentment to talking about that," Alex said as she turned her glance at Riley, her eyes were burning with a determination to not talk on that sensitive topic.

"Grammar school? You make it sound like you didn't go to school in the States when you were younger."

"I didn't. I started school in the States when I was about 15. I was schooled in England for a while," Alex said as she turned her attention back to her notebook.

Riley was about to go and ask Alex about her schooling when the professor finished with the role call and began the lesson.

"Sigmund Freud was the one that founded the school of psychoanalysis and started the school of Freudian thinking…" the professor started to say about the lesson for the day.

Riley wrote down the notes in a pace that was a bit slower than most fast writers. Alex, on the other hand, just continued with whatever she was doing. Riley, at one point, glanced over and noticed that Alex wasn't writing down any of the notes that the professor was lecturing about. He leaned over to see what she was writing about when Alex saw this and cleared her throat.

"Anything of interest, Mr. Poole?" Alex asked irritably as she covered whatever she was writing from Riley's sights.

"Nope, I'm good…nothing at all, Alexandra," Riley said as he went back to taking notes.

Soon, an hour passed before the professor ended the lecture.

"Next class, we're going to talk about the dream analysis topic. This will be useful for your midterm paper," the professor said as everyone was dismissed.

Riley packed away his stuff into his messenger bag while Alex stuck her pen on her ear and stuffed her notebook in her backpack. Riley was the first to get up and scoot over to the stairs before Alex. Before Riley was completely down from the stadium seating, he tripped and fell face-first onto the floor. A couple of girls that were able to see all of this laughed as Alex sighed and made her way over to Riley and helped him to his feet.

"Oh, stay away from the nerd, Gates. You don't want to catch his disease…oh, wait, you have…" Mia said with a snob attitude as Alex turned to look at her.

"Funny, Mia…say, you better not come any closer…don't wanna ruin your flawless face," Alex said as Mia flipped her bleach-blonde hair with her manicured fingers.

"As if you know any better…"

"Along with your 500 dollar perm and 50 dollar French mani. I suppose that you don't know anything outside of what you wanna hear, like boys and how much money it cost you to get your Porsche from a really bad dealership," Alex added with a sarcastic drawl.

"Actually, it cost 499 plus tax for my hairstyle and 49 plus tax for my acrylics."

"Hence, 550 dollars total. Do the math, Bernhardt. I'm sure that you can do additions very well…oh wait: you can't, since your blonde attitude states your intelligence IQ to be 20."

Riley, along with a couple of students, just stood there, watching the bicker evolve over time.

"Like, whatever loser Gates…c'mon, Lindsey. We got somewhere to go that even Gates here can't get into," Mia said with a huff as the two girls left.

"What a stuck-up bitch…wonder who twisted her panties? I betcha it was her dad's pool boy," a pink-haired girl said from the doorway.

"Cassandra," Riley said in greeting as he walked over to the girl.

"Hey, Riles…what's going on, favorite cousin?" Cassandra asked as she hugged Riley.

"Wait: this _**IS**_ your cousin?" Alex asked as she caught the last part of Cassandra's greeting to Riley.

"Yup…I thought you already knew that, Lex. But, did Mia try to pick on Riles here? I'm glad that you were around to tell her off," Cassandra replied.

"Wait, wait a second here. This…is Lex?! I thought Lex was a guy…and your boyfriend," Riley said after the initial shock passed.

"Yea…wow, you two aren't really focused on your memory, huh? Maybe a nice, cold one is in order, Lex…looks like you need one badly after that near fight with that Barbie-fake," Cassandra said with a sigh.

"Yup…"

"Anyway, to answer your question, Riles, Lex and I have been pals since we worked at Barnes and Noble," Cassandra said as she wrapped an arm around Alex's shoulders. "Besides, this gal can handle anything that is thrown at her. Trust me on that, Riles," Cassandra added as as she winked at her cousin.

Riley looked over at Alex and gave her a small smile. Alex smiled back, knowing that she was going to actually enjoy Riley's presence.


	2. Present Day: The Start of a Bad Day

**DISCLAIMER:** See Chapter 1 for Proper Disclaimer.

_Author's Note_: Wow, I'm glad I got the prologue out of the way. Already, I have two reviews! Thanks to xxroxy-dogxx and Dimonah Tralon for reviewing (you guys are the best) and for whoever I didn't get to mention for review. Now, on with the show!

* * *

_**(George Washington University, Present day...)**_

"By next week, I want a 4-page paper on your opinion of how Dan Brown's interpretation of the secret societies is presented in Angels and Demons and Da Vinci Code," Alex said to a lecture hall of students. "Ok, that wraps up today's lecture. I'll see you all next week," she added as she dismissed the class.

The students slowly began to file out of the room, eagerly talking about the paper. As Alex was packing her messenger bag, she caught a few snippets of a couple of her students talking on the assignment.

"She makes it seem so easy for us…makes you wonder how much of the lecture is based on her experiences with finding the Templar treasure in New York," one excited student said to her friend.

"I'm not sure. She keeps that in a low profile, since she really doesn't like to brag on that while she's lecturing us. But, it would be awesome if she and her older brother found yet another national archaeological find," the friend said as both of them left the room.

Alex smiled on the friend's comment. True, she didn't like to bring up the events that nearly had her life completely wiped from existence, but she did want to give her students a glimpse into her world from time to time. Just as she got the messenger bag onto her shoulder, her cell phone blared out Rihanna's "Please Don't Stop the Music". She pulled out her cell phone and answered it.

"Hello?" she asked.

**Hey Alex…** Riley's voice replied back from the other end.

"Hey, Riles. What's the matter? You sound like you have just been robbed or something like that," Alex said as she noted Riley's tone.

**Yeah…my Ferrari just got impounded…**

"Wait, what?! Are you serious?"

**Yup. I'm dead serious, Lex. Can you pick me up? I'm over at the entrance to Border's, **Riley said as he groaned on the other end. **And it had to happen when I was doing my book signing…**

"Don't worry, Riley. I'll come and get you," Alex replied.

All the while, Alex was walking down the hallway to get to the parking lot. What she noticed a bit into the conversation was a couple of students running to the doors that led to the parking lot. Alex narrowed her eyes as she caught one or two words from the passing students.

"…fight…outside in the parking lot…"

"Err, Riley? I'll call you when I'm pulling out of the university, ok?" Alex said as she hung up on Riley.

Alex walked as fast as her sneakered feet could go before she made it to the doors. She stepped out into the sunny, mid-afternoon campus grounds and saw a fight happening near where she had parkd her car. She groaned and hit her forehead with her hand as Public Safety officers rushed out from one of the other buildings to stop the fight.

"I can't believe this…not one bit…" Alex said before her cell phone rang to Michael Buble's "Home".

She groaned as she answered her cell phone again for the second time in ten minutes.

"Yes, Dad? Can I help you?" Alex asked with a sigh in her question.

**You all right, Alex?** Ben's voice asked from the other end.

"Ben? Why are you calling me on Dad's cell? Where is he?"

**Err…you're going to need to sit down for this…** Ben said, with an undertone of something bad.

"How bad is it?"

**Pretty bad.**

About a half hour later, Alex pulled up at the curb in front of Border's. Riley was sitting on a bench with a cardboard poster of himself in a safari outfit and a cart of his books. Riley looked a bit mad at Alex for being late, but Alex just gave him a roll of her eyes.

"Please don't make my day any worse…I had Public Safety not allowing me to my car, Ben calling me with bad news-" Alex started to list off the bad things that ruined her day.

"Don't whine to me," Riley simply said as he loaded the things into her car before sitting at the front passenger seat.

"We're getting Ben on the way to my dad's place. Ben said that he wanted to tell you the bad news in person," Alex said as she drove away from the curb with a street racer's precision.

**Author's Note: Ok, you know the drill. Press the 'Review' button and I'll even throw in a cookie...or maybe Riley to the first lucky reviewer.**


	3. Present Day: Breaking In

**DISCLAIMER:** See Chapter 1 for Proper Disclaimer.

_Author's Note_: Ok, after getting, not 2 not 5, but **_SEVEN_** reviews for chapter 1 I love you guys! You all get cookies and a piece of Riley! Share him nicely, ladies! ;)

**Dimonah Tralon**- I really didn't get to do a National Treasure 1 fanfic, but I think I should, since I've watched that movie about 5 times already to know the plot to that one...

**propheticllusion **(if i spelt that right...)- yes, this does take place in Book of Secrets. I happen to love Riley more in this one, because of his witty quotes (don't get me wrong, i love the first one too. this one was hilarious with his british accent coming out more here than the first one.)

And now, without further ado...chapter two of 'Boy Next Door'!

* * *

Alex was driving her car as Ben told Riley about Mitch Wilkinson. Alex recalled the conversation she had with Ben that afternoon…

(FLASHBACK!)

"How bad is it?" Alex asked her older brother on her cell phone.

Pretty bad, Alex…you might wanna sit down for this… Ben said with a sulky sigh.

"Tell me straight-forward, Ben—what happened?"

Well, I had that lecture with Dad today and it was going real well. Then, this Mitch Wilkinson shows up with a page from John Booths' diary…

"Wait, wait…one of **_THE_** missing pages from the Booths' diary?" Alex asked, a bit confused for the moment.

Yeah, Alex. And, guess whose name was on it? Great-Grandfather Thomas Gates, and Wilkinson thinks that he was one of the conspirators of Lincoln's assassination.

Alex's eyes bulged out of her head at Ben's news. She could feel her knees shake a little from hearing this.

"There's no way! I'm pretty sure that Great-grandfather Thomas wasn't part of the ones behind killing President Lincoln…in fact, from what I remember reading from Great-great-aunt Elizabeth Gates' diary, he didn't help kill Lincoln…" Alex said as she became a bit more and more furious.

Great-Great Aunt Betsy had a diary? I didn't know that…

"Yeah…and both her and grandpa Gates confirmed that Thomas never actually commit the murder, since he was killed when he realized something…something to do with what he was doing before he died…I don't remember," Alex said as she sighed into the phone.

Good. Can you go and pick up Riley for me, please? I might need his help with something, Ben said before he hung up on his younger sister.

"So much for me asking why…" Alex said as she put her phone away and got into her car.

(END FLASHBACK!)

"I bet that it's another treasure hunt, Ben…" Alex said as she interrupts Ben.

"No, it's not-wait, yes it is…" Ben said.

"And you want Riley's hacking skills to come in handy so that we could steal Abby's ID to look at that page you and dad were talking about?" Alex asked as she parked the car near the end of the driveway to Ben's former house that he shared with Abigail. "So, let me get this straight: you wanna do this while she's out on her date, right?" Alex added as she turned in her seat to face Ben.

"A date with whom? The White House curator?" Ben asked.

"Why would Abigail date—?" Riley asked with a gagging look on his face.

"I don't even bother with her dating life after Ben…besides, she was better off with you, Ben…seriously better with you than with anybody else…" Alex said to her older brother as the three exited the Toyota Rav4.

"I can't believe we have to break into your own house," Riley said as the three walked from the driveway to the front door.

"I'll agree with ya on that…" Alex said as she put her hands into her pocket and found something in there that she made a confused face for five seconds, but shook it away with her a shake of her head.

"I need Abigail's ID badge; she has access to the Booth diary page," Ben replied.

"Why not ask for her help then?" Riley asked.

"I bet she switched the code on ya when she kicked you out, huh Ben?" Alex asked.

"Yes…she did. She's not going to talk to me."

"We have 30 seconds after the alert starts to disable the alarm," Riley said as Ben pulled out a key from his pocket.

Alex, Ben and Riley entered the house as Riley set up to disable the alarm. While he was doing that, Alex pulled the item from her pocket and her eyes widen a bit. She decided to replace the item back into her pocket with a small grin. By the time she did that, Riley had just cracked the code.

"You did that in twenty-five seconds," Ben announced.

"You're slipping," Alex just said as the three headed up the stairs.

"I'm not slipping," Riley said.

"Riles, even I can break the code in half the time that you did it in…and I thought that you would hack into the system within 15 seconds," Alex replied as she headed straight for where Abigail kept her ID badge. "Got it," she added as she pocketed the item.

Ben then noticed a car coming into the driveway.

"That's not Abigail's car…" Ben said.

Alex swore under her breath as the three headed down the steps. Alex then did the most unlikely thing ever: she sat down near the foyer and pulled the morning paper from a small pile on one of the end tables. Ben hissed a 'What are you doing?' to her, but Alex didn't listen as she read the paper in silence.

'I could have told them that I did have the code in my pocket…oh well,' Alex said in her mind as she let out a sigh as Abigail and Connor entered the house.

Upon entering her home, Abigail noticed Alex sitting on a chair, reading quietly at her spot.

"Alex…nice seeing you again. How was your lecture for today?" Abigail asked as Alex looked up to see Ben's ex-girlfriend and Connor, the White House Curator.

"Hey, Abby. Class was very interesting today, I have to say. How was the Museum? Busy as ever?"

"Likewise. Hacked into my system besides breaking into the house?"

"Nah…spare key was underneath your rug and your code is the date of the Battle of Trenton…in numeral order of the battalions," Alex replied back as she flipped the page of the paper.

"I see…" Abigail said just as Ben made his entrance.

Alex just read the paper as she tuned out the argument between Ben and Abigail. Riley, who had just come out of hiding when Abigail called out his name, walked over to Connor and introduced himself.

"Right…Ben's assistant," Connor said.

Alex hissed between her teeth as she heard that part. She shook her head as she heard Connor starting to leave.

"Awkward," Riley said as Alex nodded her head.

"Very awkward indeed, my good Watson," Alex said with a Sherlock Holmes impression as she turned the page again for the paper.

" I cannot believe you three broke in," Abigail said to Ben just as Connor was out the door.

"Not my idea for once," Alex said.

"What did you take?"

"Nothing that you might have missed, Abby."

Abigail stopped in front of Ben before walking over to Alex. She stuck her hand out in front of Alex, who didn't take notice till after she looked up.

"What?"

"Hand it over, whatever it is that Ben made you hide in your pocket," Abigail said.

"Darn…and here, I thought I would have gotten away Scot-free for once," Alex said as she handed over Abigail's ID badge to its owner.

"I need to take a look at the Booth diary page," Ben said flatout.

"You saw the page yourself. There is no treasure map on it," Abigail said.

"Ah-HA!! I knew it! I knew it from the start that it was going to lead to another treasure hunt…" Alex said as she leapt to her feet.

Riley smiled at Alex's reaction to Ben's statement. As Ben and Abigail argued more, the four walked down one of the numerous hallways.

"…you can have the Boston tea tables," Ben said, which caused Abigail to stop in her tracks.

As soon as Alex heard that, she ran in front of her brother to protest.

"No, you're not giving her those! Grandpa promised those to me…even Dad can vouch for me on this," Alex said, hoping that Abigail wouldn't take the bribe.

"Both of them?" Abigail asked as she turned to face Ben.

"And, yet another fruitless attempt…" Alex said as she sighed, her head low in defeat.

Author's Note: Ok, you know the drill. Click on the Review button and I might throw in Ian into the reviews as well as Richard Sharpe (which, if you must, the two are protrayed by the same person...the wonderful, yet charming, Sean Bean)


	4. Present Day: The Start of Another Quest

**DISCLAIMER:** See Chapter 1 for Proper Disclaimer.

_Author's Note_: Wow, another update within a day. I'll like to thank my reviewers, especially xxrox-dogxx and PropheticIllusion, whose name I did spelt right for once...usually, it's nicknames or I mispelt them...hehe ;

**PropheticIllusion**-I'm really glad that Alex seems all right to you. Mostly, people say that my OC is too Mary-Sueish...but, I'm happy to hear that Alex seems very normal.

And now, without further ado...chapter four of 'Boy Next Door'!

* * *

"I told ya that it was another quest…but did you believe me? No; instead, you said that I was wrong and that it wasn't another treasure hunt," Alex said to Ben as he paced around the room.

"I did not say that—" Ben protested.

"AND…you promised 100 dollars ALONG with bragging rights," Alex continued.

"Bragging rights to what?" Riley asked.

"Nothing, Riley. Just something between Alex and me," Ben said.

"Bragging rights to the fact that this missing Booth diary page is actually part of a map to another treasure, waiting eagerly to be discovered," Alex said.

"Ok, Ms. Know-It-All, what else did Betsy add to that diary of hers?" Ben asked.

Before Alex could answer, she and Ben caught sound coming from the next room. Ben went to talk to Patrick while Alex remained behind with Riley, who was working on his laptop to break the Playfair cipher.

"Did you bet on this?" Riley asked, not once looking up from the screen.

"Yes…while we were in the car on the way to the house," Alex said.

"How come I didn't hear it?"

"Because, that was before Ben…wait, I never made that bet with Ben. Shoot, I should have, knowing him," Alex said as she swore under her breath.

"Now she remembers…" Riley mumbled as he continued with his work. "What is Ben talking about with Betsy's diary?"

"Betsy Gates was Thomas's sister and aunt to our grandfather, Charles. Now, the two of them heard Thomas's dying breath, 'The debt that all men pay'…oh, why didn't I figure this out earlier?" Alex said as she realized something.

Taking Riley's laptop away from its owner, Alex typed in the word 'DEATH' and hit 'Enter'. Then, a spew of letters appeared at the bottom of the page, 'L-A-B-O-U-L-A-E-L-A-D'.

"No way…" Alex said as Ben and Patrick entered the room.

"The answer is 'Death'. That's the answer to 'The debt all men pay'," Ben said as he neared Alex and the laptop, but seeing that his younger sister beat him to it. "Laboulaye?"

"Laboulaye…of course! How can I be so stupid…?" Alex exclaimed as she hit her hand on the table. "Sorry," she added as she saw Riley jump from the notion. "Edouard Laboulaye was the one that designed the Statue of Liberty…why am I the only one that seems to know more Global History than all of you?" Alex asked as she noticed the looks that she was given. "Laboulaye designed three statues: one in New York, one in Paris, and one in Jardin du Luxembourg. But…only one of these three did Laboulaye called his 'lady'…"

"How did you get 'lady' from the letters?" Patrick asked.

"Cause the 'y' was missing from both 'Laboulaye' and 'lady'. So, the one we're looking for is the one that's near the Eiffel Tower, which is conveniently located in Paris, France. Somebody better give me an A+ for actually staying awake for that lecture," Alex said as she punched the air with a fist and a grin on her face. "Boo-yay! I'm so good…"

The three men all stared at Alex as if she had just announced her engagement to Prince William. Riley, however, knew that Alex's intelligent was very well-known to be used at the most random times.

One flight and a day later, Ben and Riley were investigating the torch of the Statue of Liberty near the Eiffel tower; Alex was to remain back at the hotel room to set up for any last minute decisions. Alex, having been bored for about twenty minute after the two left her alone, decided to go and help the out from any 'sticky' situations. Once she arrived by the Eiffel tower, she saw two Police Officers on bicycles near where Riley and Ben were standing. Alex rushed over to the scene as fast as her flip-flops could allow her to run in.

"Excusez-moi. Est-ce que je peux vous aider des messieurs?" One of the officers asked Ben and Riley. (1)

Before any of the two could reply, Alex just reached the scene.

"Benjamin Franklin Gates…comment le DÉFI vous me laissent pour souffrir dans l'ennui à l'hôtel. Et, pour le compléter au loin, il n'y avait AUCUN bon film à la télévision," Alex said as she stormed over to Ben and hit his arm with her hand. (2) "Juste parce que vous avez traîné mon ami de la salle ne vous autorise pas à laisser votre plus jeune soeur tout seule dans la chambre. Qui sait ce qui pourrait être arrivé à moi tandis que j'étais seule à la salle ? Je pourrais avoir été attaqué, violé, ou même enlevé… et tué." (3)

"Excusez-moi…mais, vousa fait pour dire 'Ben Gates'?" the same officer asked. (4).

"Yes, this is my older brother, Ben, and I'm Alex. Why do you ask?" Alex replied, not sure why she was asked that.

"Ah, you're the one that wrote the book, "Tales of Ancient Societies". Your book is well-written for a 26-year-old," the officer's partner replied in English, much to Alex and the others' delight.

Alex blushed a little as her book from two years ago was mentioned. Riley stared bugged-eyed for a moment or two before Ben leaned over towards Riley.

"She was mostly doing research with a colleague of hers from her Ancient World History class…someone by the name of—" Ben whispered to Riley.

"Cassandra Poole? Yeah…I thought so," Riley finished for Ben.

"So…what brings you to our fair city, Mademoiselle Gates?"

"My companions and I were just wondering if you could translate this for us," Alex said as she pulled out her PDA and there was the picture that Riley had sent to Alex mere seconds ago.

"'Across the sea these twins stand resolute to preserve what we are looking for. -Laboulaye, 1876'. Is that all, mademoiselle?" the first officer asked.

"Yes it is, monsieur. Merci," Alex said as she walked over to the two men.

"Before you leave, can you sign my ticket book?" the second officer asked.

"Am I getting a ticket, monsieur?" Alex asked with a confused face.

"No, no…just an autograph."

After that was done, the two officers left.

"What just happened?" Riley asked.

"I think…I just saved you two from getting a ticket. Now, let's head back to the hotel and pack for London," Alex said as she started to walk over to where cars were passing by.

"London?" Riley asked.

"You figured out the next location, huh?" Ben asked.

"Easy: 'Across the sea these twins stand resolute to what we are looking for.' The Resolute desks at Buckingham Palace in London…" Alex replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"So, London then?"

Alex nodded her head as she turned to the street and whistled for a cab.

"Think we might get tea and crumpets for breakfast in the morning?" Alex asked in a British accent.

"I bet we will," Riley replied back with the same accent as Alex.

"You two are really annoying when you two do that," Ben said as he shook his head.

Author's Note: Ok, you know the drill. Click on the Review button, please. Also, I mentioned Cassandra Poole here. You'll get to know more of what happened with her later on in the story.

translations are from Babel Fish and are in French:

**(1)** Excuse me, can I help you gentlemen?

**(2) **Benjamin Franklin Gates...how DARE you leave me to suffer from boredom at the room. And, to top it off, there was NO good movies on the telly. _Ok, as you can tell here, Alex likes to refer to her 'proper' etiquettes ever so often to annoy Ben...just to keep him on his toes every once in a while._

**(3)** Just because you dragged my boyfriend out of the room does not entitle you to leave your younger sister all alone in the room. Who knows what could have happened to me while I was at the room alone. I could have been attacked, raped, or kidnapped...and killed. _Hehe, ok this part was supposed to be a cover-up for Riley to stop messing with his helicopter and sent the picture to her cell phone. Also, Alex hoped that Riley didn't catch that part where she referred him as 'boyfriend'. BUT, we'll get to that at a later point in the story._

**(4)** Excuse me...but, did you say 'Ben Gates'?


	5. Present Day: Memories and Car Chases

**DISCLAIMER:** See Chapter 1 for Proper Disclaimer.

_Author's Note_: Like I had promised, you get to find out more about Cassandra in this chapter. Mind ya, it's going to shock a few people here.

And now, without further ado...chapter five of 'Boy Next Door'!

* * *

While Riley and Ben were taking care of the blueprint plans of Buckingham Palace, Alex had decided to go out and get some food for the three of them. Riley could sense that Ben was going to ask about Cassandra while Alex was out getting food…boy, was he right.

"I didn't know that you had a sister, Riley…who is she?" Ben asked as Riley was typing away at his laptop.

Riley sighed before he spoke. He had a bad feeling how he might react while retelling of what happened to Ben.

"My cousin, Cass…she met Alex while she was working at Barnes and Noble a few years back. I met Alex while getting my Bachelor's from the George Washington University. Back then…let's just say that Alex wasn't the type of girl that would normally hang out at the library, from what she was wearing then," Riley started out.

"Yeah, I know…went through a phrase of being tomboyish...still does, really," Ben said as he remembered Alex's college days.

"Well…let's just say that, back then, we never really got along that well…until…" Riley said as he remembered that one incident that would change his attitude towards the youngest Gates.

(FLASHBACK!)

Riley was in the library, dressed as if he was about to go on a date. He had been waiting there for about an hour or so before he sighed to himself.

'Where is she? She said that she would meet me here for that date,' Riley thought to himself as he waited.

A tap on the shoulder made him turn around…to find Alex standing behind him. She was dressed in her red Elements hoodie and black pants with red stripes on the insides of the pants. Riley was surprised to see Alex there.

"Hey…why are you sitting here, as if you're waiting for someone?" Alex asked, her hazel-brown eyes searching for the answer in his brown eyes.

"Waiting for my date to arrive…" Riley replied as he straighten up a bit.

"Your date? With whom?"

"Mia."

Alex's eyebrow lifted in a 'You're kidding?' look.

"What? I'm waiting for her, since she asked me out," Riley said to Alex.

"And…you never asked her if she had other plans, huh? God, Riles, you never EVER expect someone like Mia to be serious on their promises. Mia only asked you out so that she can talk shit about you on how you got 'stood up'. Honestly…" Alex said as she walked pass Riley to exit from the library.

Riley followed Alex out of the library, no longer worried about being stood up for his 'supposed' date with Mia Bernhardt.

(END FLASHBACK!)

"You got stood up?" Ben asked.

"Yeah…turned out that I would have been the laughing stock for the next day. Alex took care of that by posting up blackmail photos of Mia from homecoming night. Mia got so mad that she started to curse your sister out. But, Alex took care of that—" Riley replied.

"Whoa, whoa…my younger sister fought with this girl?" Ben interrupted, learning something new about his baby sister.

"Just punched her nose…that's about it, Ben. Anyway, Alex was, forever from that point on, in my good graces. Cass and Alex decided to get an apartment in New York after college. About a couple of weeks later, Alex and Cass invited me and Ian to a concert—" Riley continued.

"You knew Ian Howe before Charlotte?" Ben asked, his eyes widen a little.

"Yeah…he was good friends with Alex and Cass. Anyway, it was after the concert that…" Riley said as he paused after mentioning the concert.

The four of them were walking down the sidewalk back to the girls' apartment late that June evening. The four of them laughing, talking excitedly about the concert they just went to not mere hours ago. Then…gunshots rang the quiet evening air, people screaming and running for cover. Ian and Riley watched as both Alex and Cass fall down to the cement sidewalk, blood pooling underneath their bodies.

"Both of them had gotten shot and had to be rushed to the hospital. Alex made it…Cass never did. Alex had recovered from the bullet wound within a couple of weeks…Cass's funeral and burial was held a couple of days after Alex was discharged from the hospital. I've never seen Ian or Alex that depressed at the funeral. Cass was supposed to get married sometime after the concert, but she never told me who her fiancé was. After two months of the funeral, Alex moved back to New York to settle any of the financial issues with selling the apartment. Ian disappeared right after the funeral, so I never knew where he went until you and I met up with him at that café. It seemed that Alex and Ian were dating sometime after Cass's death, so I assumed that she was dating him around the time we went to find Charlotte.

"So…now you know, Ben. The tragic tale of my cousin's downfall from life itself…and why Alex doesn't like to mention Cass too often," Riley said after letting out a sigh that he didn't know that he was holding.

Ben took this into consideration just as Alex returned with her arms filled with bags.

"Thanks for helping me out, you two…God, these aren't as light as I imagined…wished he had given me something lighter instead," Alex complained as she set the bags down on the table.

Alex looked at Ben, who was looking at his younger sister with a look that Alex couldn't make out easily.

"You all right, Ben?" Alex asked, a little confused and scared as to why Ben was looking at her like that.

"Sorry…I must have spaced out for a moment there. So…you know your part of the plan, right?" Ben said as he snapped back to reality.

"Yup…drive you two over to the palace for the tour and wait for you two at the car. Gee, at least leave me with something to do while I'm waiting at the car," Alex said with a bored sigh as she pulled out her food. "While you're at it, come get your food before it gets too cold for you two…or before I eat it on you."

The next morning, Alex was sitting in the car with her PDA in her hand. Thankful of Riley to install a program to monitor Ben and Riley while they were in the palace, Alex was also able to pull out a program that actually allowed her to see what Ben was doing while inside the palace.

"Riley, you can hear me ok, right?" Alex asked on her Bluetooth earpiece.

**\\Yes, I can, Lex/** Riley replied back.

"You haven't called me that since…since we first met, Riles," Alex said as she realized that detail.

**\\Well, when one remembers that bit, they tend to remember everything…and, that's when I got to see what you were capable of doing as far as keeping steadfast loyalties to your friends/** Riley replied back.

Alex was a bit crushed at the 'friends' part, but Alex soon ignored it as she saw Ben put in his earpiece.

"Ok, Ben, can you hear me and Riley loud and clear, right?" Alex asked her older brother.

**/Yeah. Where did you get these again, may I inquire?\\** Ben asked Alex from the other end.

"Sadusky loaned me a few items to use while I was working for them during the Templar treasure hunt…afterwards, he didn't ask for them back, so I kept them. I hoped that I would use them at a future time, so I made sure to keep them at hand. Aren't you glad that I did that?" Alex asked as she smiled to herself.

**\\You could have told me this beforehand, since you're James Bond here, Alex/** Riley said, making Alex roll her eyes in amusement.

"Oh, don't worry, Q…not all is lost…" Alex replied back, getting a laugh from Riley.

**/If you're done with the taunting, 007, can we get on with this? I'd like to get to the desk while we're still young…and burning daylight here,\\** Ben said.

"Party pooper…aww, shit…" Alex said before she saw a familiar face as Ben was facing the stairs. "Ben…what is Abby doing there?"

Soon, Alex saw Ben talking to Abigail. The two seemed to have a small argument about something.

**/I appreciate you trying to help, but it's kind of a bad time right now,\\** she heard Ben say to his ex-girlfriend.

**/\A bad time?/\** Abigail's voice asked on the earpiece.

**/It's a bad time.\\**

**/\I just flew all the way to England to help you, and…/\**

**/You're the one making a scene here.\\**

**/\I'm not making a scene!/\**

"Ben, pull an 'Ernie and Bert'…make a darn scene here," Alex said, with Riley agreeing her with.

**\\Wait, what's an 'Ernie and Bert'?/** Riley asked.

"Wait and you'll see," Alex said, knowing what was about to happen.

(Ben and Abigail's POV)

"Well, fine! If's that how you want it, let's have it out right now!" Ben said as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

**\\Ah, so subtle/** Riley said over the earpiece.

**/Tell me about it,\\** Alex said with a hint of laughter in her tone.

(Riley's POV)

Riley shook his head in amusement as he heard Ben act all loud and really rude on his earpiece. This was something that both Cass and Alex would have done back when the three of them were still attending college. Riley smiled at the memories the two girls did and it was really hilarious, even when Alex had punched Mia Bernhardt's nose into her face. Clearly, from day one, Alex and Mia never really got along with one another, giving each other fuel to burn more and more with a hatred that would eventually have Alex snap and react to a comment made about Riley's lack of getting a girlfriend at the time. He wouldn't have told Cass about it, but Alex had told him, at one point, that she would have chosen him to date than any of the guys she came to know of during her entire life…and that meant a lot to Riley then…and it still has to this day.

(Normal POV)

"That…was brilliant," Alex said, with Riley saying that as well, as Ben and Abigail were taken to the security level of the palace.

**\\And, I think that gets us directly where we need them to be, Lex/ **Riley said as Alex heard typing on his end.

"Yup…now, if you don't mind…I think I'll take a nap," Alex said as she settled into the driver's seat and closed her eyes.

Not even fifteen minutes later was Alex abruptly awakened from her nap. The sound of a fire alarm was heard over on her earpiece, thus waking Alex from the pleasant dreams of her and a really toned-body Riley.

**/Alex, I hope you're ready for us,\\** Ben said over on her earpiece.

"Yeah, I am…and I shall give my thanks to whoever woke me from my nap…" Alex said with a hint of actually killing something…or someone in this case, in her words.

**\\Sorry...that would be me/** Riley replied.

"Remind me to give you a few good swift kicks to your arse when you get here…" Alex groaned out as she stretched out her arms and legs in the car.

After doing that, she looked at the rearview mirror to see the three making their way to the car…running to the car, more like it.

"Don't tell me something bad…" Alex said under her breath as she got the car started.

Thankfully, she had the car unlocked, so the three got in easily.

"Drive," Ben said as he climbed into the back with Abigail; Riley got into the front passenger seat, thinking that he would drive the car. "We're in England, Riley. Driver's side is on the right."

"All right, buckle up and hang on to your pants," Alex said as she shifted to reverse and drove backwards, nearly taking down one of Wilkinson's men as she drove. "Please don't tell me that he's here, Ben."

"All right…he is," Ben replied flat-out.

"Great…" Alex said as she swerved the car so that she could shift the car into drive and drove as quickly as she could allow the car to go.

The chase being on, Alex swerved in and out of traffic, causing Ben to yell out 'Watch it, watch it' to her even few seconds.

"Ben, please…for my sake, just let me drive," Alex said as she pulled the emergency brakes as she drifted, nearly colliding with a double-decker bus.

Alex drove to where she was behind a truck with beer canisters in the back of the truck. Making a quick decision, Alex pulled to the right side of the road.

"Are you insane?!" Ben yelled out as Alex drove the BMW next to the truck.

"Ben…SHUT UP!" Alex said as she swerved back onto the left side in front of the truck before pulling into a side alley.

Alex continued to drive at the rate she was going, knowing that she was going to be yelled at by Ben later. She drove through an intersection, nearly scaring her fellow passengers to death.

"Does anyone have a camera on their phone?" Ben asked after Abigail told him that hers was broken.

"Yeah…Riley, at your feet is my phone. Pull it out," Alex said as Riley did that and gave her phone to Ben.

Alex heard a couple of shots taken before handing the phone back to Riley and passing a piece of wood to Alex. Alex took a quick glance at the piece of wood before her eyes widen.

"Ben, do you know what this IS?!" Alex exclaimed loudly.

"Just throw it!" Ben yelled at her.

With a small whimper, Alex chucked the wood out the window, over the side of the bridge and into the Thames River. Alex continued to drive at the rate she was going till she was driving on the outskirts of London. Only then did she pull over and killed the engine to the car.

"You wanna tell me as to why I just threw a piece of Olmec history out the window?" Alex asked Ben as she turned in her seat.

"You know it was Olmec?" Abigail asked.

"Yeah…I did," Alex replied before realizing something. "Oh, we are NOT bringing her into this, Ben," Alex said as she started the car again before driving back to London.

Author's Note: Ok, you know the drill. Click on the Review button, please. As you can tell, I had to put in a flashback that is the setting of one of the oneshots that I did for NT. It's called Admiration. Check it out so that you can get a sense of what I was referring to here. Also, next chapter, you get to see more of Alex's past AND Riley gets to do a romance scene with Alex there.

-Jade Opal-


	6. Present Day: Old Wounds Reopening

**DISCLAIMER:** See Chapter 1 for Proper Disclaimer.

_Author's Note_: Two chapters in one day! Geesh, I must have been lucky to pick a day like today to get mroe chapters up. Well, this is where Riley gets to kiss Alex...GASP...I know, BIG shock. Thanks to my reviewers, especially xxroxy-dogxx.

And now, without further ado...chapter six of 'Boy Next Door'!

* * *

Patrick opened the door to his home to find three things: Abigail was with them, Alex was mumbling "We.Are.Not.Bringing.Her.Into.This." to Ben, and Riley was stuck carrying Abigail's luggage. Ok, so he found Riley's predicament to be hilarious. But, he was concerned about what Alex was talking about as his youngest child walked into the house. After Riley entered the house with much struggling, Patrick was able to be caught up with what had happened in London and in Paris.

When it came to understanding the markings, as Alex proclaimed it to be in the Olmec dialogue, did Patrick come to a conclusion.

"I can only make out one symbol: this is for Cibola," Patrick said as he pointed to said symbol.

Ben then went into discussion with Cibola's history, it being known as the city of Gold. Alex added that it might have been America's 'El Dorado', but no one knows for sure.

"I need to speak with her…and you two are coming with me," Ben said as he told his dad.

Alex then let out a sarcastic 'Ha' out loud as she shook her head back and forth.

"We are NOT getting her involved, Ben…as much as it seems like a good idea, I don't think that she'll like it one bit. I mean, we're on the top of her shit list to start out with," Alex said as she gestured both Patrick and herself.

"She's the only one that seems to know the translating part better than you, Alex," Ben retorted.

"At least she didn't make you go to boarding school in England for 8 years of your life. 'For your own development of etiquettes' as Emily put it…Etiquettes my arse!" Alex said as she shook her head again.

"Emily?" Riley asked.

"Ben and Alex's mom," Abigail replied back.

"Besides, she hasn't talked to Dad in 32 years, Ben…what makes you think that they'll talk after a 26-year divorce? Things will be better off without involving Emily," Alex said as she stared at Ben. "And, you really wanna know what tops this all off? I hated her for making me have to endure boarding school."

"She also DID pay for your college tuition," Patrick pointed that out.

"After someone CONVINCED her otherwise, Dad."

And with that, Alex stormed up the stairs, taking it at three at a time, before slamming the door to one of the upstairs bedrooms. Ben groaned as he took a seat on the arm of the couch; Abigail trying to calm him a bit. Patrick sighed as he went out to get some food for everyone. That left Riley to go and talk some sense into Alex. Once Riley got to the second floor, he noticed that the door that Alex must have gone into was slightly opened, not entirely closed all the way. He peeked into the room to find an open duffel bag on the bed and "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs" by FallOut Boy was blaring from the bathroom.

Riley opened the door a bit wider and saw that Alex wasn't in the bedroom. Riley shut the door behind him as he entered the room. He walked closer to the bathroom to find that door also cracked open and steam was slowly escaping from the bathroom. He poked his head into the bathroom to find the shower going…and…

Riley entered the bathroom and saw Alex's shadow from inside the shower. He took off his shoes, socks, and jacket off before he heard Alex speaking.

"What am I going to do, Cass? Not a day goes by and I feel more and more like a bloody arse…it almost makes me wonder how much Mia and I were like in tempers…" Alex said in between her sobbing, yet it was mostly drowned out by the running water.

Riley, taking a big risk at this, stepped into the shower fully-clothed and took Alex's sobbing form into his own calm one. Alex wrapped her arms around Riley's waist and cried into his now-drenched tee-shirt. Riley then took the time to look over Alex: she was dressed in a black bra and a pair of dark blue denim jeans. Her shirt and shoes must have been tossed into the bedroom before she came into the shower.

"Shh…it's ok, Lex…I'm here," he cooed to Alex as both of them slid down the wall till they were both in the tub.

Riley turned the water off after 5 minutes. Alex's sobs had turned into hiccups as Riley still held her slowly shaking form towards his. Riley stroked Alex's drenched hair away from her face, so that she could breathe more easily without her hair being in the way. After a few more minutes, Riley scooped Alex into his arms as he struggled a little to his feet. He carried Alex out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, where he stood Alex up on her feet before he went back for towels for the two of them.

Coming back a second later, he then proceeds to dry off Alex's shivering form. He managed to get her arms toweled down before Alex stopped him with her hands. Riley looked at Alex straight in the eye to see her smile a little.

"Thanks for caring, Riley…but, we should get into drier clothes. Or, they'll suspect that we did something to make them tease us," Alex said, her voice a little hoarse from crying.

Riley nodded his head in agreement. Then, without hesitation and not waiting for another chance, Riley cupped Alex's face with his hands. This made Alex wonder what Riley had in mind, but that was answered as Riley brushed his thumbs on her cheeks. He didn't waste another moment before he leaned towards Alex and place a chaste kiss on her mouth. Riley wanted to deepen the kiss, but he didn't as he pulled away. Alex's eyes were closed before they opened to allow Riley to see a somewhat glazed-over look in Alex's eyes.

"That…I've wanted to do that for a while now," Riley said, lowering his hands before he left the room to change into different clothes.

If Riley had stayed in the room a bit longer, he would have seen Alex smile a little bit and heard her say "It's about time, Riley Poole…but, then again, it's not the first time that you've kissed me."

(FLASHBACK!)

Alex was leaning on the railing of the terrace leading out to the elaborate gardens of Mount Vernon gardens. She took a swig of her Corona Extra as she turned her head to see the rest of the senior class partying for the last time before finals and winter break. She sighed, seeing her breath form into mere clouds. She was glad that she had her motorcycle leather jacket on, for it was mildly cool in the early December evening air. To her left, she could see Cass talking to Ian, who was nodding his head while smiling at his girlfriend of 8 months. She smirked as she knew what Ian was going to get Cass for Christmas.

"Isn't this party swell?" Riley's sarcasm drawled from Alex's right as Riley joined Alex.

"Yeah…man and woman come together to act like kids, dancing, drinking, making out…sexing it up," Alex said as she took another swig of her beer. "Does any of this make you wanna puke your brains out?" she added as she looked at Riley from the corner of her eye.

"Nope…not if you're here," Riley said as he took a swig from his cup.

Alex turned her head to see Riley was either having a light buzz…or was on the verge of being drunk. She took Riley's cup from him, emitting a groan from him. Alex looked inside the cup and sniffed it before sipping from the cup. Making a face, Alex dumped the rest of the cup's contents down into the grass below.

"It's spiked. Let's get you home," Alex said as she dragged Riley over to Ian and Cass, who weren't drinking as much as Alex or Riley.

A half hour later found Riley and Alex walking up the steps to Riley's dorm building. It was kinda of a blessing that Riley didn't have a roommate in his room, or that his roommate was at the same party hey had just come from. Either or, the two made it up three flights of stairs before walking a short distance to the door of Riley's room. Taking the key from her pocket, she unlocked the door and ushered Riley into the room.

It was only after Alex closed the door did Riley pushed her against it and started to make out with her. Alex wasn't expecting this, but didn't bother to stop Riley as she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

(END FLASHBACK!)

Author's Note: Ok, you know the drill. Click on the Review button, please. IF my spelling's off, that's because I did this chapter in two hours with NO referring to the movie at all or to any of my online sources for backup. The next chapter is going to skip over the white house scene AND Ben kidnapping the president, but will have the meeting with Ben and Alex's mom and the Library of Congress in it. I have about thinks for a moment a couple of chapters left, and the epilogue, so I'm almost done with this one...and this will be the first fanfic that has more than 1 chapter in it. My god, I'm getting good. . But I'll leave you all at this note, so keep on reading and looking out for more chapters.

-Jade Opal-


	7. Present Day: Photos and Books

**DISCLAIMER:** See Chapter 1 for Proper Disclaimer.

_Author's Note_: I apologize for the lack of the updates. I've been busy, plus I won't be able to update for this weekend, since I've going to AnimeNEXT from Friday to Sunday, so I'll get the last chapter done by the time I get back. I like to thank those that have been reviewing, especially summersgirl2526 and xxroxy-dogxx.

And now, without further ado...chapter seven of 'Boy Next Door'!

* * *

Alex, Riley, and Abigail were all sitting in Abigail's SUV a couple of nights later. The three of them were awaiting word from Ben in terms of where to go. Abigail was drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, Riley was leaning his head on the window and sighing every so often, and Alex was trying to keep herself from getting too nervous about something.

"Five bucks that he does kidnap the President," Riley said with a bored sigh.

"Twenty that he doesn't," Alex replied back with the same bored sigh.

"What? That much??" Abigail asked, catching on to the small betting in the backseat.

"No…I said thirty…" Riley said, ignoring Abigail for the moment.

"Thirty-five that Ben's 'borrowing' the President, making the Secret Service convinced that it IS a kidnapping…" Alex replied as she cracked her back.

Riley winced at the cracking. Abigail ignored it with a masked neutral face.

"Twenty-five dollars that it turns out bad and loser has to pay on a dinner date," Riley said.

"Fine by me," Alex said as she got out of the car.

"Wait, what? Did you just—" Abigail said in confusion of what just happened.

"Relax, Abigail. This is what we did in college…and she usually won the bet. She's used to this, really," Riley said as he looked out to see what Alex was doing. Once he saw what she was doing did he let out a groan.

"What?" Abigail asked.

"I thought she kicked the habit…guess she didn't since her death…" Riley said with a sigh. "Alex never smoked cigarettes…not while she was in college. I guess she must have started I up again after what happened in New York."

"'Her' death?" Abigail asked.

"My cousin. Alex and Cass were pretty close to one another while in college. They met while they were in High School, just before senior year. They were inseparable, as you might put it. Once the accident happened, resulting in Cass dying, Alex fell apart. She went back to the depressed person she was: smoking cigarettes, drinking till she was drunk…but, this was after the funeral."

(FLASHBACK!)

After entering Alex's apartment in Philadelphia, Riley was about to knock on Alex's bedroom door when he noticed the door unlocked. He opened it to a crack to hear someone rushing to the bathroom and the sink being used.. He pushed the door opened a bit wider to find light streaming from the bathroom and the medicine cabinet opening and closing along with a slight 'RIP' and someone hissing from pain. He walked over to the bathroom to find a sight he wasn't prepared for: Alex was wrapping her right wrist with gauze and medical tape. There was a blood-stained pocket-knife on the bathroom counter. He also found an ashtray that was not really filled with cigarette butts near the pocket-knife.

Alex must have sensed someone by the door, because she looked up at the bathroom mirror to find Riley there. Her face looked really pale and sunken in a bit from lack of eating.

(END FLASHBACK!)

"After that, Alex left for New York. It looked like she had gotten some help from her friends there…along with her then-boyfriend, Ian…" Riley said.

"The same Ian…?" Abigail asked.

"Yup. But, I think she was glad that she ended that relationship. Look how it turned out in the end for Ian: prison for kidnapping, trespassing on government property, and whatnot. Alex seems like she's holding it back," Riley said just as Alex opened the door to the SUV.

Alex slipped back into the car, no trace of cigarette smoke on her hair, clothes, or breath. It turned out that she was chewing on gum just as she was done with her cigarette.

"You know that you didn't have to add in the part where I was cutting my wrist. I had cut myself from opening a package…then again, you couldn't have noticed the box as you were walking to the bathroom," Alex said as she adjusted herself to the seat comfortably.

"Really? What was in the box?" Riley asked.

"It was Cass's engagement present to her. But, since she wasn't going to have it, I thought that I could use it," Alex said as she pulled out a small bracelet-like watch. "This was hers…I had it repaired…but, it turned out that she was going to give to me along with the apartment in her will. So, that's how I ended up cutting my wrist that day. I had to get the watch from the tight packaging it was in and my pocket-knife gave me a nice cut…" Alex explained.

"And the sunken-in appearance?" Abigail asked.

"Oh, that?" Alex asked. "I had a gig that day, and I didn't have time to remove the make-up," Alex said.

"A gig? You were in a band?"

"No…she was performing as back-up for a friend's show," Riley said, knowing what Alex was doing back then as a pastime.

"Yup…" Alex replied just as Abigail's cell phone rang.

Abigail answered the call as Alex rubbed her hand with her other one. Riley noticed this and took her hand in his, massaging out all the nooks for her.

"Thanks," Alex said when Riley was done.

"You're welcome," he replied as Abigail started the car.

Minutes later, the three along with Ben were walking inside the Library of Congress. Alex wasn't really focusing on what was going on as she walked, but her mind was set on back when they met with Emily a couple days ago…

(FLASHBACK)

**Ben, Abigail, Patrick, Alex, and Riley were walking through the halls of the University of Maryland's History Department building. Alex was silently protesting on going to see her mom, cringing at the last memory of her encounter with Emily, which resulting in a yelling contest and Alex walking out on her mom screaming at her. She was about to turn around and go back to the car when Riley's hand tugged her hand gently back.**

**Alex turned to see Riley give her a 'Just give it a try' look, which Alex sighed in defeat as she continued with the group. The five stopped outside of Emily Appleton's office before a student stormed out of there, saying 'I Hate Her!'.**

**"This is the right place," Patrick said.**

**"I think I'll just wait this out," Riley said, knowing that this might turn ugly.**

**"I think I'll join ya—" Alex said before Ben grabbed her sleeve.**

**"No, you're not. C'mon, Alex," Ben said as he managed to drag his sister into the office.**

**Alex was the last one to enter the office as Emily was greeting everyone else but Patrick and her. When Emily turned her attention to the two, Alex managed a weak smile at her mom.**

**"Hi," she said simply with the weak smile.**

**Alex was starting to regret tagging along. Emily managed a small smile at her daughter and surprised Alex by pulling her into a hug. Alex let out a small sigh of relief as she hugged her mom back.**

**"I see that you're doing well, Alex. You seemed to be back to what you were before your friend's death…" Emily said as she noticed the regret in her daughter's eyes.**

**"Thanks…" Alex said under her breath.**

**"Mom, we need you to translate something for us," Ben said.**

**"Why didn't Alex translate it for you, Benjamin? She's got her minor in global history and u.s. history, after all, so I'm sure she could have translate—" Emily said as she came to realize something. "This isn't about the treasure, is it?"**

**Alex let out a small nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck. Emily took her daughter's laugh as a 'yes'.**

**"It is, isn't it?" Emily said as she watched Alex nod her head. "This is one of the silly adventures your father has you doing, isn't it, Ben?"**

**Alex then took the opportunity to glance around the office. She was surprised to see some of the things she remembered the last time she was there: the books, the papers, the artifacts from her mom's early days of exploration. What she was surprised to see were the pictures Alex had sent to her mom: the graduation from George Washington University, graduation from High School, Alex's Senior Prom…and the one where Alex was standing next to her dad, Ben, Abigail, and Riley from when they had discovered the Templar treasure. She also saw that Emily had gotten the DVD of which Alex had recorded the findings of Charlotte and the underground tunnels of Trinity Church. Alex smiled a little before a small cough caught her attention.**

**Alex turned to see that it was just her and Emily in the office.**

**"I see that you found those," Emily said.**

**"Yeah…I thought that you might have sent them back, thinking that you didn't want them," Alex replied.**

**"Alex…when have I ever returned anything that you've sent me? Sure, we have our differences here and there…but that doesn't mean that I don't accept anything that you send to me. I had a couple of my students admire the pictures that you sent and I even showed your DVD to a couple of my classes…" Emily said as she sat on the couch.**

**Alex joined her mom on the couch. She had a feeling that this might lead to another argument, knowing from experience.**

**"You're mad at me, aren't you Mom?" Alex said.**

**Emily looked at her daughter before she replied.**

**"Well, I'm a little upset that you didn't get to translate the wood for your older brother—"**

**"I was going to, but he insisted on taking it to you, Mom. I didn't like the idea, since we had that argument the last time I was here," Alex said, remembering the last time very well.**

**"Sweetie…we had a petty argument about your admission to George Washington University, when you could have come here for your bachelor's. I'm surprised that you're working on your Master's here while teaching over there. But, that is your choice, Alexandra, and I should have respected that," Emily said to Alex. "Well, you better go catch up with your father and Ben then, Alex."**

**Alex nodded her head as she got up and walked to the door. She turned back to Emily.**

**"I'm sorry…for back then…I know that we can't change the past…but learn from it," Alex said before she walked out the office.**

(END FLASHBACK!)

Sighing, Alex just sat on the edge of the table while Ben, Abigail, and Riley were looking for the book number.

"You know…I worked in here for a summer while in college," Alex started to say as she pushed Ben to the side. "And, usually…some books are behind the ones up in the front of the bookshelves," Alex added as she took out the book nearest to what Ben was reciting for a while now to find some hidden compartment above the books. "What'd you know? There's a hidden compartment up here…Ben, what was the book number again?" Alex asked as she removed some more books before there was a nice-sized void on the shelf.

"XY 234.786," Ben said as Alex put in the six-digit combination onto the lock.

The compartment opened to reveal a leather-bound book.

"Ben…this is the—" Alex said as she gave the book to Ben.

"Yup," he replied as he took the book to the table.

As Ben looked through the book, Alex was hoping to film this…but decided not to, since this WAS a very important document and didn't feel that it would have been right to film it.

"Area 51!" Riley said excitedly. "The JFK shooting!"

"Yes, Riley. But, we're not here for that," Alex said as she took the book from Ben's hand and found the entry in regards to what they were there for. "'April, 1865. Queen Victoria sends to Pike two coded missives. The first is received, containing information regarding of New World Treasure; 'City of Gold'," Alex read aloud.

"Victoria was willing to help the Confedrates?" Riley asked.

"Divided America would equal disorder and weakness," Abigail summed it up.

"Plus the cotton from the South was needed," Ben added.

"'The second was thought to contain a Playfair cipher suggesting contact with Laboulaye, who'll hide the clues before his death.' The cipher that was written in the Booth diary that Thomas was trying to burn," Alex said with a sigh of excitement. "'1880, Resolute desk arrives in Washington, D.C., send by Queen to President Hayes.' Interesting…anyway, here's the final entry by Coolidge. '1924: I found a wooden plank in a secret desk compartment. The plank was photographed and then destroyed. Borglum commissioned to destroy landmarks in sacred Black Hills mountain.'," Alex read. "Why do I have a feeling that this is leading to Mt. Rushmore?" she asked, wondering if she wanted to brag or not yet again.

"Borglum was the guy that was behind the foundations of Mt. Rushmore…nicely done, once again, Alex," Ben said.

"I know…my global and U.S. history minors are helping me BIG time…" Alex said with a grin as she closed the book.

"So…now what?" Riley asked.

"Take a picture. I mean, I can translate it right now, but…then again, Mitch needs to be informed of these things," Alex said as she shrugged her shoulders at the last part.

This time, Ben, Abigail, and Riley looked at her. Alex looked at all of them with a steady glance.

"What? I guess I forgot to mention that Dad didn't know as to WHOM broke into the house while we were in London AND that it was Mitch and his goons that were able to copy Dad's SIM card, so that he knows what is going on between us and Dad. Thank God for installing and turning the security cameras on when I needed to…otherwise, I wouldn't have known that they were in London in the first place," Alex said as she pulled out her PDA. "Seriously…what was I doing while we were hunting for the Templar treasure? Filming, of course…besides uploading the video back to Sadsuky.

"Besides, Ben. He DID tell you that I was undercover for them just because of my knowing Ian at the time," Alex said.

The next few moments were a blur to Alex as Ben photographed the picture of the plank; Abigail and Riley were already on their way to the car. Alex had stayed behind for a moment while Ben opened to a different page and photographed it.

"Page 47? Personal request?" Alex asked.

Ben nodded his head as he put the book back. Then, both brother and sister went to exit the building.

Author's Note: Ok, you know the drill. Click on the Review button, please. Once again, I'm doing this without referring to my sources **(Ok, that was a lie. I had to go back to the movie for the book call number and for the entries in the President's Book.)** so bear with it for the moment. Also, like I said before, this is the last update till I get back from AnimeNEXT. Also, here's a question that I need to ask you guys: should I do a prequel to this, which takes place in National Treasure? Or, do a sequel for Boy Next Door? Thanks for reviewing, guys, and I hope to update soon.

-Jade Opal-


	8. Present Day: The Calm before the Storm

**DISCLAIMER:** See Chapter 1 for Proper Disclaimer.

_Author's Note_: I apologize for the lack of the updates. I've been busy, since I've had a small writer's block (thankfully, it didn't stop me from finishing up 'BND' and starting to write up a sequel for this.) I like to thank those that have been reviewing, especially miller330, Edward Cullen's Girl, and xxroxy-dogxx. This is more or less of a filler chapter leading to the great Mount Rushmore sequence and the finding of the City of Gold. Here, you get to see Riley's side of things a bit and see more of how Cassie's character is.

And now, without further ado...chapter eight of 'Boy Next Door'!

* * *

Alex was asleep while Ben was driving to the parking lot of the Mount Rushmore National Park. Riley was looking out the window again as Abigail was content with having small talk with Patrick and Ben. Riley turned from the window to find Alex's head on his shoulder, a look of content on Alex's face. Riley smiled a little as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and rested his head back on the window before falling into a light sleep.

(DREAM/FLASHBACK!)

Alex, Riley, and Cass were sitting in a diner, talking about finals and what everyone was doing for Winter Break. The three seemed to have only milkshakes in front of them.

"I'm going to see if I can go do some stuff in Manhattan while I'm visiting my folks," Cass said to the other two. "Say, why don't you guys come with me to New York? I'm sure that your dad's willing to let you go, Lex, since Riley's already going to see my parents and brothers and sister," Cass said as she took her milkshake and took a long GULP from it.

"Easy on the intake, Cass…don't wanna have to perform any CPR on ya," Riley jested as Alex shook her head.

"I might be able to come up for a couple of days…seems like J.D. needs me for a back-up on his play or something, right Cass?" Alex said.

"Yeah…dunno why he keeps asking for you, but he seems to like ya enough to get you some part in his works…did he say what he wanted you do to this time?"

"He said that it was a horror/comedy type of play this time. Almost like 'Young Frankenstein', only more focused on Dracula. I think it's called 'The Passion of Dracula'."

"Almost like that show that we went and saw the other week?"

"Nope…kinda like the Liam Nelson type of comedy," Alex said.

"Ah…then, it should be a hit then, knowing how you perform," Cass said as Riley took two straws and made them stick to his teeth.

Alex and Cass turned to face Riley, who was making a funny face with the straws in his mouth. Both girls started to laugh as Alex grabbed for her camera and took a shot of Riley and Cass.

"That-that was-priceless!" Cass said in between her laughing her butt off.

Riley took the straws out of his mouth before he joined in the laughter. Alex then looked over at Riley and winked as she took her straw out of her milkshake and one of the wrappers for the straw. Riley took the hint and did the same as well. Cass had stopped laughing to find both her cousin and her best friend about to do something with straws and the paper wrappers. Cass scooted out of the booth before she ran for the door, with Riley and Alex following in pursuit. Alex and Riley, before scooting out of the booth, paid for their meal and left a good tip for their waitress to get.

At Cass's funeral, Riley was off at a corner of the wake in the funeral home. He saw relatives, including his dad, talking to one another and comforting each other. But, he had yet to see Alex or Ian in the room. He went outside the room to find Ian on his cell phone. He looked a bit nervous while trying to call whoever it was he was trying to call. Ian turned to see Riley looking at him, so he got off the phone and made his way over to Riley.

"You've seen Alex? I can't find her anyway," Ian said, his voice wavering a little.

"I thought she was with you," Riley said.

"I haven't seen her since she got discharged two days ago…"

Then, both of them turned as someone exited from the women's restroom. Alex was staring back at them with a blank stare, although her eyes were as red as everyone else's. Her black eyeliner did little to hide the fact that she had been crying recently.

"You all right, Alex?" Ian asked, showing concern to Alex.

Alex just nodded her head.

"I'm going to get that water bottle from the car. I'll be right back," Ian said as he left Riley with Alex.

Alex then turned to Riley…but it wasn't Alex that was staring at him…it was Cass instead.

"I'm so sorry…" Cass said before she came at him…

(End DREAM/FLASHBACK)

Riley woke up to a start. He noticed that Alex was up already, looking at him with a concerned look on her face.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Just a nightmare…" Riley said.

"Same one from a couple months ago?"

Riley nodded his head. Alex then shifted in her seat so that her back was facing Riley.

"Try going back to sleep, Riles…" Alex said as she started to fall asleep on Riley. "I'll wake you up when we get there."

Riley closed his eyes and went back to sleep, the soft breathing from Alex seemed to lure him back to sleep easily and without any more nightmares.

A short while later, Ben pulls the car up to a parking spot in the parking lot of the National park. As Abigail and Patrick got out of the car, Ben realizes that his sister and Riley were still asleep in the backseat of the car. He shook Alex first, who opened one hazel eye to look at her older brother's brown eyes.

"We're here. Wake Riley up, will you?" Ben said just before he got out of the car quietly.

Alex turned herself around so that she was facing Riley. Taking in the innocence while Riley slept, Alex waited a moment or two before she tapped Riley's shoulder. Riley opened one eye before he opened both of them.

"We'reherealready?" Riley slurred as he got more and more awake.

Alex nodded her head as she sat up a little. She winced a little from the way that she slept, so she cracked her back, earning another wince from Riley.

"You know, you shouldn't do that, Alex…mess up your back more than it already is," Riley said as he sat up as well, wincing at the numbness of his joints. "Never mind…I see what you mean by cracking your back…" Riley added as he opened the door, but he ended up falling out of the car with Alex falling out with him.

Ben, Abigail, and Patrick all looked to see Riley and Alex both on the ground, Alex on top of Riley. The two looked up at the three with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry…" Riley said as Alex got to her feet before helping Riley to his.

"Right…up we go," Ben said as he led the way.

Abigail and Patrick took the middle of the trek while Riley and Alex took the rear. Both seemed to be quiet about whatever happened in the car, but didn't have to wait for long before Wilkinson, Emily and a couple of Wilkinson's men came up the path that both Alex and Riley were watching. Alex and Riley watched as Wilkinson met up with Ben and Patrick.

Author's Note: Ok, you know the drill. Click on the Review button, please. Thanks for reviewing, guys: without you, this story would have never been a success.

-Jade Opal-


	9. Present Day: The Eye of the Storm: 9A

**DISCLAIMER:** See Chapter 1 for Proper Disclaimer.

_Author's Note_: I like to thank those that have been reviewing thusfar, and I hope that you enjoy these last couple of chapters. This next two chapters are from the same scene, but split up for dramatic purpose (To quote Linus from Ocean's 12: "OOOOOOOOOOOOOO"). Here, a loose end is tied together and a small question is answered.

And now, without further ado...Part A of chapter nine of 'Boy Next Door'!

* * *

Alex overlooked the lake as Ben and the others looked for a way inside Mount Rushmore. Alex then looked down at her feet and thought she saw something. She bent down to get a closer look at it, but her foot then slipped. She would have fallen into the icy fingers of the lake when someone grabbed for her hand. Alex looked to find Riley holding onto her hand.

"You ok?" he asked as he pulled Alex back to her feet.

"I'm ok...thanks," Alex said as she let out a sigh of relief.

Alex slipped again, only to fall into Riley's arms. Riley steadied the two of them so that they didn't fall again. Alex looked up at Riley and felt her heart skip a beat...or a couple as she looked into Riley's eyes. Riley felt the same as the two were rendered speechless. The two haven't noticed how close they were till Alex looked away, pulling back a little bit. She shook herself from the daze as she sidestepped Riley and made her way to the others. Before she was out of reach from Riley, he pulled on her hand and grasped her waist as he gave her a chaste kiss.

He wanted to deepen the kiss, but Alex thought ahead and teased him with her tongue licking his bottom lip. Intrigued by Alex's forwardness, Riley deepened it a little before pulling back from the kiss. Alex's hazel eyes were a bit clouded over from the lust buried deep by Alex's resisting logics.

"After this is done...I'm taking you on a proper date," Riley said softly as he rested his forehead on Alex's.

"I'll hold ya to that promise, Mr. Poole...and I expect it to be very good," Alex replied with a soft smile.

Riley smiled back as he released Alex to go off to join the others. Riley kept the smile plastered on his face as he remembered a memory from the last day of classes in the Senior fall semester...

**(FLASHBACK!)**

**_Riley woke up to find himself in bed with a slight hangover. He yawned as he stretched out his arms...to find that the room was a bit too quiet for Riley's comfort zone. He looked down and realized that he was back in his dorm room. Getting a bit on the edge of alertness, he lifted the covers to his bed a little...to find that he had some clothes on him. Sighing in relief, he sat up a little to find Alex sleeping on the airbed that she had inflated the other night._**

**_Riley got up and walked to the bathroom in his room. As he closed the door, he sighed as he took off his shirt. Once said article of clothing was on the floor of the bathroom, he noticed marks on his neck and his shoulders. He was about to go and question Alex about it when he shook it off._**

**_'Nah...she wouldn't have known about it...man, what a crazy night I had...' he mused as he took a shower to start off his day._**

**(ALEX'S POV OF FLASHBACK!)**

**_Alex had woken up to see that the time was around 5:38 am. She held back a groan as she yawned a little...and found herself in a bed..._**

**_She turned her head a little and almost let out a GASP. In the bed with her was Riley...shirtless and possibly pants-less. She lifted the covers of the bed slowly and saw that he had his jeans still on him. Letting out a breath she had held, she slipped out of the bed and took a random shirt off from the floor; the same shirt that Riley had worn at the party, and put it on Riley. She then grabbed at whatever of her clothes that had randomly been pulled off from the night before and hastily put them on before slipping into the covers of the airbed she had blown up five days ago._**

**_'I just hope that Riley never finds out that he _actually_ was the one that had sex...with me, nonetheless...' Alex thought to herself as she allowed her thoughts to consume her into a fitful sleep._**

**(END FLASHBACK!)**

Alex was with Abigail when the blond-haired woman found the eagle tattooed into the rock. Ben and the others rushed over carefully to where Abigail and Alex were located.

"What was the last part of the clue, Wilkinson?" Alex heard Ben ask Mitch.

"'Surrender your hand to the heart of the warrior'," Mitch said as Alex looked at her hand.

"Well...the moment of the truth," Alex said under her breath as she reached****out with her right hand into the small gap.

"Alexandra Betsy Gates, that is dangerous. Patrick, tell her that it's dangerous," Emily said, clearly worried.

"Alex, it's dangerous," Patrick said, repeating what his ex-wife said.

Alex, not really taking heed of the warning, stuck her hand in the gap...and let out a bone-chilling scream. This led to the others screaming as well...until Alex started to laugh her head off. She pulled her hand out to emphasize that she was completely all right.

"Wow...I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself," Alex said as she continued to laugh. "But, seriously, I'm a bit smarter than what you guys think I am."

"We all know that," Riley and Ben said sarcastically as they rolled their eyes.

"Now...if I just pull this lever..." Alex said as she felt a lever in the gap and pulled on it.

All of a sudden, some rocks in the distance fell down to reveal a pathway behind where the group was standing. The group then venture into the hidden pathway.

Once inside the cave from the outside world, Alex pulled out her camera and began to film the room. She was surprised as much as her mother to see Olmec culture inside the room.

"Ben, what is that?" Abigail asked from somewhere behind Alex.

"A counterweight to hold the door open, probably..." Ben said before the structure began to collapse.

Riley and Alex both had to duck out of the way as wooden beams began to drop to the ground after years of being put up. After the collapse, Patrick and Ben were trying to get the door opened as Wilkinson helped Riley and Alex to their feet.

"Only one way out of here now...forward," Wilkinson said as the group then went to move out of the room.

"Guys, take a look at this," Riley said once the group got into a different room. "It's a tiny little man..."

Then, in a blur, Ben, Abilgail, Riley, Wikinson and Alex tumbled into what seemed like a hieroglyphic stone slab while the door closed behind then; Emily was calling out for her two children.

By the time Alex had time to even think, everyone minus her were at a corner; Alex just remained in the dead center of the slab. Alex did a quick check of her things to find her flashlight and the water bottle gone...probably down in the depths below the group. She was surprised to find her camera in tact and still in her pack. She then noticed how her cheek felt a bit bruised up.

"Everyone all right?" Ben asked everyone.

"Peachy...but I'll live to fight another day," Alex said as she gingerly touched her cheek and winced at the searing pain. "Owww..."

Alex tuned out what was happening next as she tried to balance herself on the slab of stone. A couple of times, Wilkinson nearly put her right back on the slab face first as she managed to recover in time. Within minutes, Wilkinson was up on a secure landing above the stone slab.

"I can do the math here...and someone will have to stay behind," Abigail said as Ben agreed with his ex-girlfriend.

"Just promise me that you'll come back for me. I can do the math here too," Riley said.

"That makes you next," Ben said to Abigail.

"I'll go last...'No, we'll figure something out here, Riley.' 'Yeah we need you up there, Riley.'," Riley said, imitating both Ben and Abigail, having both of them smile at Riley.

"You're not staying behind, Riley Jonathan Poole. Go; I'll stay," Alex said as she sighed.

Riley was about to argue with Alex when Abigail went forward to reach the ladder. The three remaining then went forward to allow Abigail to climb the ladder, but that was before the support beam keeping the stone slab in place snapped, causing an imbalance to occur. The next few seconds was an adrenaline rush for Alex as Ben, herself, and Riley rushed to get to the ladder before the slab went from underneath their feet. Alex's fingers were slipping from her grip on the ladder when Riley, who was nearby, helped her out by holding onto her hand in a tight grip.

Both Ben and Alex were pulled up from the ladder onto the secure landing. Once brother and sister were up and safe from danger, Riley let out a sigh.

"Why can't a girl see me do that?" Riley said a bit early. "Oh wait...there's one right here," he added as he felt Alex hugging herself onto Riley.

"You arse..." Alex muttered out with a shaky exhale.

"You all right?"

Alex just nodded her head in reply.

Shortly after the stone slab room, the five came across a flight of stairs hidden by water and ventured down the stairs. It was after they came into an open room did they realize that they had found the lost city of Cibola. Alex was happy to find the room...along with being reunited with her parents. Within moments of being reunited, Alex began to film the city of gold. It was when she took a step forward that she realized that water was hitting her Timberlands. She looked up to find water slowly breaking through the barrier.

Alex then went towards her mom and Ben by the center of the room on an altar. She filmed the symbols on the altar just as water began to rush back into the room. Then, the youngest Gates saw her father drop a dollar bill into the current...which led to a passage underneath the altar. Scrambling to get her camera back into her pack, she and the others rushed down to a smaller room with a wheel in the center of the room.

Alex spotted the wheel and went over to it before pushing. Wilkinson caught onto what Alex was doing and joined her in pushing the wheel, which opened a door on one of the walls in the room. The water that was rushing into the room began to drain into another room. Wilkinson backed off from the room, leaving Alex to helplessly get stuck as the wheel closed the door. Within seconds, Alex was about to get in Mitch's face about leaving her to the wheel when Wilkinson punched both Ben and Riley before grabbing at Abigail. He stuck a knife underneath Abigail's chin, emitting a small scream from the blond.

"I'll stay! I'll stay, I'll stay!"

Everyone turned to find Alex back at the wheel. Patrick and Emily were both surprised and worried, but Ben was even more surprised at Alex's jump-of-the-gun notion. Usually, she would jump if the situation is in favor to Alex and Ben...but, this wasn't one of those situations.

"Do I have your-?"

"Yes, you have **_MY_** word, Wilkinson. Just-just let her go..." Alex said, her voice cracking a tiny bit.

"Alex...no, we're not leaving without you," Emily said while Patrick held her back.

"There's no time, Mom...please-I rather have it that you ALL live instead of burying all of you. I've done it for one friend of mine...I'm not about to do it for my family," Alex said, not faltering one bit. "Riley..." she called out to Riley.

Riley didn't want to allow Alex to go with her plan, but he went up to where his college friend was standing. Alex took off her pack and held it out for Riley to take.

"Please watch over my parents and the lovebirds for me, ok?" Alex asked Riley.

Riley nodded his head. He was looking at his shoes, not wanting to let Alex see the tears forming in his eyes before he felt Alex's hand under his chin. Alex forced Riley to look at her, his brown eyes to her hazel-green eyes. One look and Riley knew that this was the eyes of the one he fell in love with all these years.

"Can you promise me that, Riles?"

"I will," Riley said as he lowered his glance again.

"Hey...I want to see those eyes of yours, Riley. The ones that I fell in love with for all these years that we've known each other; the ones that I shared that moment back before the accident that ended Cass's life. Please...Riley," Alex said, her voice was only heard by Riley.

Riley looked back up at Alex and gave her a confused look.

"You honestly thought that Ian and I were dating after Cassie died, huh? What if I told you that Ian was to marry Cassie? And, I never slept with Ian, since I was already committed to one person already: you were the one that gave me my first kiss...and the one that I've lost my virginity to," Alex said, tying all the loose ends on her part up in a short, brief answer.

In Riley's mind, it seemed to click right away: the reason as to why Ian and Alex were always talking to one another before Christmas that year; the reason as to why Alex seemed to befriend Riley more than just being his friend-she was already his to begin with.

"Can I tell you something? I'm already scared..." Alex said with a small chuckle as she shook her head. "Go...get them out of here, Riley..." Alex added as she sobered up, pushing Riley gently to the others.

"How can I know that you'll be ok?" Riley asked as he stopped to face Alex again.

"I wish I can say that I'll be watching you for a while...but the water's rising very quickly and I really want you to get the others out of here," Alex said, realizing the rising water at that point.

Riley, against his better judgment, nodded his head as he got the others to get going. Ben turned his head to see his younger sister smile at him one last time before he faced the door. Abigail, Patrick and Emily also saw the smile as well and followed Ben's example. Riley, on the other hand, looked back just as Wilkinson and Alex were turning the wheel, opening the door once again. That was the last thing he saw before he was sucked under the doorway.

**Author's Note: Ok, you know the drill. Click on the Review button, please. Thanks for reviewing, guys: without you, this story would have never been a success.**

**-Jade Opal-**


	10. Present Day: The Wake: 9B

**DISCLAIMER:** See Chapter 1 for Proper Disclaimer.

_Author's Note_: I like to thank those that have been reviewing thusfar, and I hope that you enjoy these last couple of chapters. This chapter is Part B of Chapter Nine.

And now, without further ado...'Boy Next Door'!

* * *

"…Is she breathing…?"

Benjamin Franklin Gates…what can I tell you about my older brother? Well, he's the one that has his mind set on his goals, even if he's stubborn like Dad and Mom are at times, but he's really one of the few people that I've looked up to in my entire life. He is, as most people would call him, a steadfast loyal person to his friends and family.

"…I don't know…she looks so pale…"

Abigail Chase…what does one say about her? I can say, from personal experiences, that she's eager to give you a lecture without putting you to sleep. She's taught me to curse in German pretty darn well and on how to preserve historic documents…no, I haven't stolen any other documents since the Declaration, silly. The interesting thing is that she's one of the few girlfriends that Ben has had in his entire life that I actually get along with.

"…Is she going to wake up…?"

Mr. Patrick Gates to the academic and archaeological community, Patrick to those that knew him before and after Mom came into his life, and Dad in Ben's and my case. What can I can about my good ol' pops? He's been on my side since I told him that I wanted out of boarding school and into mainstream schooling. He's also been on my side when I told him that I wanted to be a historic literature professor, teaching both history, folklore, and works of literature to the future generations (he was the only one that knew that I would really well in this department). Of course, he was the one that wrote a book on being stubborn and headstrong, hence we fought at times over the most idiotic thing we could have thought of right on the spot.

"…I got a weak pulse on her…"

Em-Mom…guess I'm on her good graces to consider calling her 'Mom' again. Sure, we fought and whatnot, but we made up later on with shopping sprees at the bookstore, discussing different ancient folklore and myths over coffee and cookies, and so forth that both me and my mom were able to do unlike me and my pops whenever we made up after a fight. But…of course, like Ben and my dad, she can be stubborn at times.

"Alex…wake up. Please wake up…"

Riley Jonathan Poole, the one that was the first guy to give me my first kiss and the one that I gave my virginity. Who would have thought that the night of that party would have changed my view on Riley forever? Since that night, it kind of got really awkward to be in the same room as Riley, since it would lead back to that memory every time I saw him. But, I felt glad that I was able to confess as to who it was that I loved all this time…him, not Ian. Ian was more of a big brother, as I had figured that out after a month of knowing Ian. Riley, on the other hand…it took me up till the night that Riley told me that he was waiting for Mia to show up for that date of theirs to realize that I loved Riley.

"Alex…it's time for you to wake up."

Cassie…?

Coughing up water and taking a deep breath afterwards, Alex gained conscious of her surroundings. As her eyes opened, she saw that everyone was looking down at her.

"What happened?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

"You opened the door, but that was before you had been thrown off the wheel by a strong current, caused by one of the statues to fall into the room, by the wheel and where you were standing," Ben said as Alex felt the wave of pain hit her like a brick wall.

"I kinda figured that part already, Ben…where's Wilkinson?" Alex asked as she tried to block off the searing pain from her head and right hand.

"He didn't make it," Patrick said to his daughter as Alex began to shiver from the cold.

Seeing this, Riley wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her towards him, helping to warm her up. Alex smiled at the gesture and nodded her thanks to the computer expert. As the group thought in silence, Alex felt a glare coming from the water. Abigail then turned her head to find light coming from the end of the tunnel. The group got to their feet and walked over to the light.

"We haven't officially met. I'm Riley," Riley said to Emily.

"Oh…hi. You must be the Riley that Alex had told me about while she was finishing her Bachelor's in GWU," Emily said as she shook Riley's hand.

Alex grinned sheepily as she remembered telling her mom that part within two hours after the Psych class was over. As Emily joined Patrick, Alex held Riley behind a little. Riley turned to see what Alex was holding him back for, but didn't get a chance to ask when Alex pulled him down to kiss him. Riley wrapped his arms around Alex's waist as the two stayed in that embrace. When Alex pulled away did she answer his unspoken question.

"Cassie said hi and was jumping up and down when she found out that you had asked me out finally. 'Make sure to tell him that he should marry Alex before the chance is lost.' Whatever that meant…" Alex said as she and Riley then walked to the end of the tunnel…and back out to Mount Rushmore.

**Author's Note: Ok, you know the drill. Click on the Review button, please. Thanks for reviewing, guys: without you, this story would have never been a success.**

**-Jade Opal-**


	11. Present Day: The End of One Chapter

**DISCLAIMER:** See Chapter 1 for Proper Disclaimer.

_Author's Note_: I like to thank those that have been reviewing thusfar, and I hope that you enjoy these last couple of chapters. This is the LAST chapter of BND, which includes an epilogue at the end.

And now, without further ado... the conclusion of 'Boy Next Door'!

* * *

Riley was flabbergasted at the sight of his red Ferrai in his usual spot in front of his apartment. He rubbed his hand on the body of the car before spotting a note at the windshield. He nearly went into a spasm when the note revealed to have come from the President of the United States.

"Try not to park your car anywhere near a 'no parking' sign in the near future," Riley hear someone say to him.

He turned around to find Alex standing by the stoop to his apartment. She looked amazing in the outfit that she was wearing, which was a red button-down French cuff shirt and a black pencil skirt. She even wore black stiletto heels to match the skirt itself. Truly, Alex looked more business-like than ever. As Riley admired Alex's new appearance, Alex recalled something that Abigail had asked her when they had first met.

"'Ever fell for the boy next door? The one that knew you all so well?'"

At the time, Alex said that she had…and still has at the time. Now, she knew that she was right all along. Alex had said that in a volume that only Abigail was able to catch.

"You look, erm…you look, ummm…" Riley studdered, bringing Alex back to reality.

"I look what, Riles? Too professional? 'Cause, Abigail thought that this was perfect…though, this is a bit over the top," Alex said as she examined her outfit as she shifted her weight on the heels.

"You look amazing, Lex. Now, this is something I can get used to seeing you in," Riley said as he finally overcame his studdering. "But…what are you doing here, anyway? Don't you have a lecture to teach today?"

"I only have one class to teach, and that's once a week. I taught yesterday, if that's what you're wondering about. No: I'm here for that date that you promised to take me on, remember?"

"Date…? Oh, right-that date," Riley said.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"No I haven't…honest."

"Right," Alex said with a roll of her eyes as Riley jumped into the driver seat.

Alex got in the normal way due to her outfit, otherwise she would have done the same. Riley started the car and the car went backwards…hitting something.

"You gotta be kidding me," Riley said as Alex simply laughed.

"I like to thank Dr. Gates and his family for stoppingby to tell u more on the topic of the Freemasons," Alx said as Ben and Patrick, sitting on chairs, were given a warm welcome in Alex's historic literature class.

Ben got up to speak just as Alex's cellphone began to vibrate in Alex' suit jacket pocket. She excused herself to answer the call.

"Alex Gates, how can I help you?" she said into her cell phone.

Hello, Alex.

Alex's heart froze a little as Ian greeted her over the phone. Her heartrate quickened as she mentally tried to calm herself down, but was failing miserably.

I need your help, Alex. No Ben, no Riley-just you.

"Why should I help ou? You know what happened the last time-"

You think I don't know that already, Alexandra. Ian said before letting out a sigh. Please, Alexandra…can't you help out an old friend on this?

Alex sighed at her first name: only Ian would call her by her first name if he wanted to corner her into doing something she'd regret later on.

"Just tell me when to meet you, Ian," Alex said after a few seconds.

Tomorrow at 11. Come alone.

A/N#1: That's it for 'Boy Next Door'. After much consideration, I'm going to do a sequeal for BND called 'Man of My Wildest Dreams'. It's going to have a dead character brought back to life in exchange of another's. The concept is sorta like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider's, but it will differ a little bit.

A/N#2: What happens with Ian and Alex? Will it cost Alex's life? Or, will it simply bring back another's? Find out in BND's sequeal, 'Man of My Wildest Dreams'. I'm also going to have one luck reviewer have a cameo in the sequeal…maybe two or all of my reviewers. Just PM me if you're interested and what description you want your persona be like for the sequeal.

**General Author's Note: Ok, you know the drill. Click on the Review button, please. Thanks for reviewing, guys: without you, this story would have never been a success.**

**-Jade Opal-**


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